Please LEVY a MAXIMUM FINE against this
repeat violator, University of Southern Mississippi, for their blatant
disregard of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) when their negligence allowed
bushbabies to become so psychologically abnormal as to become
self-destructive by biting off fingers or ripping out their own hair.

The University of Southern Mississippi released a statement Tuesday
evening to Seven On Your Side addressing recent allegations of abuse to
animals in one of their research labs.

The explanation is as followed:

The Purpose of The Bushbaby Research Facility is dedicated
to examining the most effective ways of enhancing and improving the
management, health, and well being of zoo and research facility-housed
animals, with a particular eye toward primates, while ensuring the highest
national standards are met. The research focus is primarily on providing
novel dietary and behavioral enrichment that will both mimic the nutritional
composition of diets seen in the wild, as well as provide
species-appropriate sensory and cognitive stimuli. As bushbabies hunt
insects and eat many forms of vegetation, researchers provide them with a
varied diet that includes foraging for insects and a wide array of fruits
and vegetables. One of our goals is to observe the feeding behaviors and
food preferences of the bushbabies, so that we may make recommendations to
zoos and research facilities, and better understand the nature of these
animals. One aspect of this is to work closely with zoos and the governing
bodies within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Care of the BushbabiesA
committed team ensures the daily care of the bushbabies. Daily management
includes thorough cleaning of their housing and enclosures, diet prep and
disbursement that encourages natural foraging behaviors, and behavioral
enrichment items that are regularly rotated allowing for tactile and sensory
stimuli. Behavioral enrichment includes nesting materials, stuffed animals,
foraging boxes, climbing structures (including branches and ladders), and
auditory stimuli in the form of music and nature sounds. OversightThe
research facility is regularly inspected by representatives of both the USDA
and USMís Internal Animal Care and Use Committee. USDA inspections are
conducted with no prior notice, and we were found to be in full compliance,
with no issues, following an inspection by the agency this past August.
USMís latest review of the facility was completed Nov. 19, 2015.

Seven On Your Side requested access to the research facility Monday, but
the primary researcher denied our request, citing that any disruption to the
animal's routine, including individuals that they do not know, can cause
undue stress to their well being.

The facility also said that specific research activities in the lab are
underway, and could be disrupted if the bushbabies' welfare were to be
compromised.

The statement went on to say that the research facility is regularly
inspected by the United States Department of Agriculture and USM's Internal
Animal Care and Use Committee.

The USDA inspected the facility in August and were found to be in full
compliance.

According to a news release issued by an animal activist group called
SAEN, (Stop Animal Exploitation NOW) a whistle blower contacted the group
alleging that bushbabies housed at the research facility were displaying
psychologically abnormal and self-destructive behavior.

According to Michael Budkie, a representative for SAEN, he filed a
complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on January 24 outlining
the allegations.

Budkie sited in his complaint to the USDA a report printed in a medical
journal by the research facility in 2009 addressing the bushbabies'
behavior, and two separate USDA inspection reports citing rabbits and
hamsters being infested with ticks.

According to Budkie, the whistle blower came forward to the group within
the past three months with the abuse allegations, and said that the
complaint he filed would have to be investigated by the USDA soon to be in
compliance with the Animal Welfare Act.

This is a developing story. Seven on Your Side will report any additional
information as it becomes available.

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